Improvement in gaiters



WILLIAM E. PUTNAM.

Gater.

' Patented April 2,1872.,

UNITE 2 -ra'rns WILLIAM E. PUTNAM, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO W. E.

PUTNAM 86 CO., OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN GAITERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.125,219, dated April 2, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM E. PUTNAM, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Gaiter or Low-Cut Boot; and do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following speciiication and represented in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 atop view of a gaiter as constructed in accordance with my improvement. Fig. 3 is a side view ofthe same, showing the foldinggore as open. Fig. 4 is a representation of the gaiter as developed on a pla-ue surface or as it appears when cut from a piece of leather. Fig. 5 is a side view of the folding-gore.

My invention has reference to that class of gaiters or low-cut boots in which the front and back portions are formed withoutpsideA seams and with but a single seam or line of stitching running up the back part of the heel. The object of my invention is to produce a neat, cheap, and substantial substitute for the ordinary boot, one possessing all its advantages as well as others not incident thereto. Heretofore 'all heavy high-quartered shoes in which the front or instep portion has been formed whole or wit-hout an opening have invariably, as far as my knowledge extends, had their quarters and fronts connected by one or more side seams. To remedy the well-known objectionable features of such has been the desideratum, and which my invention fully attains.

l am aware of the invention for which Letters Patent were granted to C. E. Tyler on April 25, 1871, in which the entire upper was composed of a single piece of leather having a lacing opening extending up the front of the instep and having the toe portion or the part below the instep portion crimped, the curve of the instep being obtained by cutting out the sides of the lacing opening. My invention is an improvement on the said patent, and consists in forming the upper or the front and ankle portions of a single piece of leather without an instep opening' and so crimping the entire front as to give the gaiter when on the foot the neat and graceful appearance of a high-cut or dress boot, my invention involving the insertion of a foldingegore in the ankle or heel portion in order to enlarge the fboti'eceivin g opening and thereby enable the gaiter to be readily drawn over the foot and the gore folded over and buckled to the ankle portion, as shown in Figs. .1 and 2.

In the said drawing, A denotes the upper, B the sole, and (l the heel of a gaiter embodying my improvement. avis the instep; b, the toe. portion; g g, the ankle parts; and d, the heelportion. l) is the tblding-gore; c, the buckle; and e, its leather tongue. 1n carrying out my invention, l first cut from a cowhide7 kip, or other suitable kind of leather, and by means of a die or pat-tern, the. blank or piece to constitute the main portion of the upper, the blank having the peculiar contour or shape as shown in Fig. 4. After the blank has been cut from the side or piece of leather it is to be dampened or wet and drawn over a block or former77 of the proper shape, and the entire front, from the extremity' of the toe to the top of the instep, crimped or molded in order to impart the requisite curvature and form to the parts. After having become dry or set7 the blank is to be removed from the former and the. parts d d of the heel portion brought together and united by a line of sewing. Next the double-iblding gore D, as shown, is to be inserted in and sewed to the rear part of the ankle portions, the same serving to enlarge the foot-receiving opening and thereby enable the foot to be easily inserted in the gaiter, the said gore, after the gaiter is on the foot, being lapped over and buckled or fastened in the manner as shown. By the peculiar style or cut ofthe upper there is little or no Waste in the stock. It makes a boot much easier to the foot than a shoe or boot having seams at their sides, especially in this class of heavy work, as it has no clumsy ridges or welts to chafe or abrade the foot of the wearer, and besides it presents a neat and graceful appearance when on the foot.

I do not claim the invention as shown as de scribed in the aforementioned Letters Patent; nor do I claim forming that part of a shoe which covers the ankle with an extension to enlarge the opening to such a degree as to permit the foot to be easily inserted, and after the foot is inserted to be folded over and buckled or fastened to the instep portion, as and formed without an instep opening, andv I ain aware that such is not new; but having a folding-gore or ap applied thereto, What I do claim as my invention is as folin manner and for the purpose hereinbefore lows: speciiied.

I claim as an improved manufacture a gaiter W. E. PUTNAM. or 10W-cnt77 boot having the body or main por- Witnesses: tion of the upper composed of a single piece F. P. HALE, of leather shaped and crimped as described, F. C. HALE. 

